After realizing that Cocolia might have betrayed the organization, Einstein suddenly found something strange.
Cocolia's collaborator could easily bypass the firewall of Anti-Entropy's internal communication system through the channel left by Cocolia to send a message to Siegfried, which meant the other party was also an expert in hacking.
But for an expert who could bypass a firewall of this level, he actually left such a flaw, allowing Einstein to follow the trail and uncover the truth...
Compared to his infiltration technique, this method was simply too 'crude.'
Unless...
He did it on purpose.
At this thought, Einstein found the situation even more bizarre.
Cocolia's collaborator deliberately left a trail so that Einstein could follow the clues to find the truth?
Could it be that they weren't on the same side?
Or was this just a trap to lure her in?
*Forget it.*
*It's not a bad thing to act like Tesla once in a while and just go with my gut.*
*If he really wanted to ambush me, he could have caused more of a commotion during the infiltration, or even tried to destroy the system directly.*
*At that point, in my efforts to repair the system, there would be a high probability that I wouldn't have time to worry about other systems within Anti-Entropy.*
*If he is genuinely trying to let me discover something, then let me see...*
*Just what kind of trick do you have up your sleeve?*
Having made her decision, Einstein continued to follow this clue.
And a few minutes later, Einstein saw a...
No, she should say she saw a bunch of familiar figures.
In a certain research lab, countless men were separated and submerged in nutrient fluid.
If it were just that, Einstein wouldn't have found it strange.
What truly shocked her was...
"Joyce..."
The faces of those men were almost completely identical to Joyce Welt from decades ago.
Seeing 'him' after so long, Einstein was lost in a daze for a moment.
But the fleeting 'nostalgia' in her heart was quickly replaced by rage.
Back then, Joyce had burned out his own life to protect the people of a city, stopping Otto's atrocities.
After that, the founding members of Anti-Entropy all deeply missed this comrade who had given his life for them.
At the time, the founders of Anti-Entropy had ultimately decided to preserve Joyce's DNA.
Although no one intended to do anything with this DNA, perhaps for remembrance, or perhaps for other reasons, none of them opposed the decision.
This material was, for all intents and purposes, Anti-Entropy's highest secret.
And yet now, someone had not only defiled the legacy 'he' left behind but had also cloned Joyce.
Even Einstein, who had the best temperament among the conservative faction of Anti-Entropy, was now completely enraged by this.
And now, the enraged Einstein's mind became even clearer.
*I see, I see.*
*Besides me, Tesla, and Yang, anyone else who wants to touch this forbidden treasure can only do so through illegal means.*
*And the person with the ability to reach this... this guy, is he trying to tell me 'he can do this' through this technology?*
*But if it's just that, there's no real meaning in him angering me alone.*
*Thinking carefully, for this mastermind to choose such a blatant method, it certainly isn't because he's arrogant, but because he has a goal he wants to achieve.*
Lightly touching the light screen before her, Einstein began to try and locate this place.
And then, she got an answer that was not unexpected.
This laboratory was located within Anti-Entropy's sphere of influence.
Combined with the information she had obtained earlier, the culprit who created these clones could only be Cocolia.
*No wonder.*
*No wonder she felt she could take on a Herrscher and remove the gem from its body.*
*Even if the quality of a single Joyce clone couldn't compare to the original, she could use numbers to achieve victory.*
*But something is not right with the current situation.*
*Where did Cocolia get the technology... I get it.*
*The person she is collaborating with not only has powerful electronic technology but also extraordinary achievements in the biological field.*
*If I calculate based on what I'm seeing now, Cocolia has even mastered the means to mass-produce Pseudo-Herrschers.*
*Pseudo-Herrschers are a world apart from genuine Herrschers, that's true, but Anti-Entropy's only Herrscher-level combatant is Yang.*
*And right now, Yang is not at the Anti-Entropy HQ. In other words, once the Joyce clones nurtured by Cocolia can begin to act normally, she will inevitably take further action.*
*For example—seizing all power within Anti-Entropy.*
*Strange. If that's the case, why did the person allied with her tell us this information?*
*For Cocolia's ally, shouldn't it be a good thing for Cocolia to seize more power?*
..
World Serpent Base
Inside the World Serpent base, a cold glint flashed in Gray Serpent's eyes, and he let out a disdainful snort.
Beside him, Jackal, a World Serpent officer who was currently organizing data, heard Gray Serpent's snort and asked with some curiosity.
"What's wrong, Gray Serpent? Isn't your plan going smoothly?"
"One of the two routes is indeed very smooth."
"Einstein is truly a genius of our time. After I left a tiny flaw, she quickly followed it to find the gift we left for her."
"Ha, that gift..."
Thinking of those difficult-to-create clones, Jackal said with a cold smile.
"Then that blue-haired shorty should be furious by now."
"Who knows. Judging from her actions, she hasn't done anything too drastic, not even immediately contacting Siegfried and Tesla who are still operating outside."
"This woman may be terrible at infighting, but she's quite clever in other aspects."
"She knows very well that telling those on the battlefield now will not only interfere with them and lower their survival rate but may also alert the enemy."
"But because of that, she has walked right into the trap I set."
"Oh, looking at it that way, it's actually not bad."
"That's why I think... Cocolia is such a waste."
Looking at the intelligence sent back by Raven, Gray Serpent felt a phantom pain in his non-existent stomach.
Just earlier, Gray Serpent had helped Cocolia successfully provoke Raiden Mei, successfully creating the Third Eruption.
After accomplishing this, Gray Serpent, knowing that Siegfried was right beside Raiden Mei, had thought that his not-so-reliable ally could at least step up a little.
With the Titans Cocolia brought, it was basically impossible to capture the Herrscher and Siegfried.
But if the two fought and consumed each other's strength, then those Titans might be able to take them both down.
Moreover, in Gray Serpent's eyes, Siegfried's value was no less than Raiden Mei's.
Not only was he a descendant of World Serpent's sovereign, Kevin, but he also held the weapon the sovereign once used, the Judgment of Shamash.
If possible, Gray Serpent wanted to find an opportunity for Cocolia to retrieve him as well.
And then, Gray Serpent realized he had been overthinking things.
The Herrscher's reaction disappeared. While this was a headache, it wasn't the biggest problem.
The biggest problem was that Cocolia, without knowing the specific situation, directly concluded that Schicksal had defeated Raiden Mei and immediately started a fight with Schicksal's Hyperion battleship.
Now both sides were at each other's throats, and the messages Gray Serpent sent to Cocolia were likely not delivered due to the electromagnetic interference in the area.
Originally, Gray Serpent's plan could have yielded Siegfried and the Judgment of Shamash, as well as a Herrscher Core gem.
His plan was actually quite simple.
Expose Cocolia's cloning of Anti-Entropy's first-generation leader, forcing her to completely break ties with the conservative faction of Anti-Entropy.
In this situation, Cocolia would have no choice but to cooperate fully with Gray Serpent.
And as long as Gray Serpent had World Serpent stir up trouble between the conservative and radical factions, it was only a matter of time before they beat each other's brains out.
At that point, with Anti-Entropy in civil war, World Serpent's chances of seizing the Divine Keys, Moonlight Throne, and Eye of the Deep from within Anti-Entropy would increase dramatically.
Due to certain events 1500 years ago, World Serpent's sovereign, Kevin, was trapped in the Sea of Quanta.
And according to the intelligence Gray Serpent had, if a Herrscher Core was thrown into the Sea of Quanta, it was highly likely that Kevin, within the Sea of Quanta, could seize the opportunity to return to this world.
Unfortunately, Gray Serpent's plan was good, but the problem was, while Einstein took his bait, Cocolia screwed up on her end.
She mindlessly went to fight Schicksal. Regardless of whether she won or lost this battle, Cocolia had already suffered a crushing strategic defeat.
And in this situation, Gray Serpent's original plan was naturally all for naught.
"Heh, so this is the intel Raven brought back."
Jackal, who had heard Gray Serpent's plan before, now saw this intelligence and belatedly realized why Gray Serpent was so angry.
Half of his elaborate plan succeeded, only for the other half to be thrown into chaos because Cocolia was too stupid...
If it were Jackal in his shoes, it probably wouldn't have ended with just a few curses.
"Gray Serpent, I've always had a question."
Placing the terminal on the desk, Jackal's lips curled into a cunning smile.
"Do you think there's a possibility that Cocolia actually saw through your plan and chose this method to disrupt it?"
"Even so, that would still only prove that she is an irredeemable idiot."
Upon hearing Jackal's speculation, Gray Serpent snorted coldly.
"Heh, if she really had the brains for that, she should have pinned all the blame on me, gone to reconcile with Einstein and the others, and claimed she was being used."
"By using this method, Cocolia could clear her name within Anti-Entropy and shift the internal conflict onto us."
"If she played her cards right, she could even use this method to deceive us together with Einstein and Tesla, continuing to pretend to cooperate with us to get support from our side."
"But now, she does nothing, taking the Titans she worked so hard to get and engaging in a pointless battle with Schicksal—and you're telling me she's a genius of astounding wisdom?"
"Jackal, ask yourself honestly, if I really said that, wouldn't you feel like I was insulting your intelligence?"
"...I would."
Nodding slightly, Jackal said with some dissatisfaction.
"So why did you team up with such an idiot in the first place?"
"Duh, if she wasn't an idiot, would she be so easy to fool?"
As a mechanical lifeform, Gray Serpent's tone was filled with an emotion only living beings should have.
Recalling his actions, Gray Serpent said with utter despair.
"When I chose her, I thought she was an idiot and easy to fool, but I never thought..."
"That woman's brain and thought process were never normal to begin with."
.....
After teaming up with Siegfried, Leo Ash watched as Siegfried rode his motorcycle alone, carving a bloody path ahead.
As for how a one-armed man could ride a motorcycle and still take care of Honkai Beasts...
Don't ask. The answer is that the Kaslana family is just that ridiculously strong.
First, calculate the motorcycle's forward speed and post-jump trajectory, then leap into the air, unleash a barrage of shots, and kill all the Honkai Beasts ahead.
And upon landing, because he had calculated the jump angle, he could land precisely back on the motorcycle and continue forward...
If Leo Ash hadn't seen Siegfried actually pull off such a stunt, he really wouldn't have believed someone could perform such an insane maneuver with just one hand.
As for Raiden Mei, she was currently tied to Leo Ash's back with a rope.
But from her breathing, sometimes rapid, sometimes calm, it seemed Mei would need some more time before she woke up.
"Hey, Leo Ash, we'll be out of the fight in a bit."
Siegfried, up ahead, shouted to Leo Ash.
"What's your plan? Even if you want to take Mei to Schicksal, you can't just barge in randomly."
"Cocolia is still trying to capture Mei. If she disregards 'exposing the Honkai' and directly sends Titans to wreak havoc in the city, even with your power, you'll have a headache on your hands."
"Cocolia, huh... Would she really be that stupid?"
Glancing at the locator he had taken out from his storage space, Leo Ash fell into thought.
He had placed a locator on the motorcycle he had given to Kiana earlier.
And now, the locator, which had been working intermittently, had just pinged, telling Leo Ash that Kiana was heading forward and to the right.
"I have Kiana's coordinates. I'm going to rendezvous with her first."
"How about it, you want to come along?"
"...Forget it."
Recalling the past, Siegfried let out a helpless sigh.
"It's not time yet... What the hell!"
Just as Siegfried exclaimed in shock, both of them saw it: the Schicksal Hyperion battleship and the Anti-Entropy Titan mechs up ahead.
If it were just seeing these things, Siegfried certainly wouldn't have been so surprised.
But the problem was, what Siegfried was seeing right now was no ordinary Hyperion.
He had been a fugitive for so many years; the Hyperion's configuration had probably been updated countless times.
So now, Siegfried, unfamiliar with the Hyperion's current setup, could only think...
—That thing can fire a cannon beam like that, and you call this the Hyperion???
On the other side, Leo Ash was also dumbfounded when he saw this scene.
*Hold on, that's the Hyperion after Murata Himeko activated the Nexus System, right?*
*And on the other side are Anti-Entropy's Titans, right?*
*This is the Third Eruption, this isn't how it went in the original story.*
*With both of you being so aggressive, I can't help but feel like...*
*—This looks more like Schicksal and Anti-Entropy are fighting their final, decisive battle, doesn't it?*
......
One minute ago. The Hyperion.
Inside the Hyperion, Murata Himeko had already left the command bridge and moved to the Nexus System's connection platform, changing into the special suit required to connect to the system.
Her subordinates couldn't be bothered to persuade her anymore.
According to Himeko herself, after she made the judgment that [The reinforcements from HQ are too slow, at this rate my subordinates are all going to die], she made a very decisive decision.
"Damn it all, so Anti-Entropy thinks they can push us around, huh? You guys started this Herrscher mess, and instead of fighting the Herrscher, you come to fight us."
After changing her clothes, Himeko muttered to herself with a fierce expression.
"I'm not some pushover you can bully. Nexus System, connect!"
"And then...!"
Feeling the sharp pain as the burden on her body intensified, Himeko grit her teeth against the pain and directly took control of the Hyperion, locking onto the enemy with its weapon systems.
"Son of a bitch, you really think I'm a pushover..."
"Today, I'll blow you all to hell!"
With Himeko's action, the Nexus System's armament locked directly onto the Titan mechs before them.
In the next moment, before Cocolia could realize something was wrong...
A torrent of fierce light had already torn through the night sky of Nagazora City.
.